CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The hauler for Jeff Gordon will be parked next to that of Clint Bowyer this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

It’s not a cruel joke that NASCAR is playing on Gordon to remind him of what he did a year ago when he retaliated against Bowyer under caution, ending Bowyer’s day and sparking a near-brawl in the garage. Haulers are lined up by owners' points, and Gordon and Bowyer are sixth and seventh in the standings, respectively.

For Gordon, he won’t see Bowyer’s hauler and remember the controversy, the pushing and shoving and the heated words from a year ago.

“Only if we come off of Turn 2 and he nails me in the left rear,” Gordon said Tuesday, “then there’s going to be some flashback.”

Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, was fined $100,000 and docked 25 points for intentionally wrecking Bowyer, who still was in championship contention — albeit slim championship contention — at the time.

“Still reliving that moment, I was not proud of it,” Gordon said prior to an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “At times, I wanted to take it back. At times, I understood why it happened."

The relationship between the two drivers has been somewhat frosty. They didn’t talk to each other during the postseason banquet festivities a couple of weeks after the crash and have not had a whole lot of interaction since then.

Gordon doesn’t seem all that worried about it.

“It has affected our friendship for sure,” Gordon said. “I like Clint. He’s a funny guy, a fun guy to hang out with.

“So we’re not doing much hanging out these days. But I’m also not there to make friends.”

On the track, Gordon said one thing has changed.

“He hasn’t run into me,” he said. “That’s been a positive. He and I have always raced one another hard but clean.”

Actually, Gordon said, he did make it hard on Bowyer when Bowyer first began racing at the Cup level.

“Listen, I took advantage of him a little bit, he knows it, when he first came in this sport and it was only because I actually liked him, which is kind of odd,” Gordon said.

“I thought he was a good talent, he’s a good guy, but I remember things that (Dale) Earnhardt did to me when I was first coming into this sport and I returned that favor. I only do that to people that I respect. He probably took that the wrong way a little bit and probably didn’t appreciate it too much like I didn’t with Earnhardt.”

Gordon and Earnhardt eventually became friends off the racetrack. Whether Gordon ever has a true friendship with Bowyer remains to be seen.

“I don’t think you can ever fix — that was big, that was a major thing that happened between us and a heated exchange in the (NASCAR) hauler afterwards, too,” Gordon said.

“I don’t think it will ever be quite like it was. We’ve spoke since and laughed about a few things so I’m not saying we won’t ever have a couple of beers together.”